


Unknown Origins

by interorbitalteeth



Category: Hellboy - All Media Types, The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: A giant telepathic eel, Abe Sapien-centric, Abe's canon backstory sucks so we're gonna rewrite it, Canon-Typical Violence, I mean Joe gets fucked up, Joe | Yusuf al Kaysani Whump, Just a small part of my crossover verse between these two, M/M, Major revelations, Timeline who?, Yeah the Guard kinda don't have a lot to do with this thing they're just there, crossover fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27512665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interorbitalteeth/pseuds/interorbitalteeth
Summary: There's a lot Abe Sapien doesn't know about himself. A dangerous encounter raises even more questions about his origins.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Unknown Origins

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so, this is a crossover where The Old Guard helps out the BPRD sometimes with missions. And also the beginnings of my attempt to rewrite Abe Sapien's backstory, cuz his canon one is boring and I kinda hate it. Also, I wanted to write more Joe whump, sue me.

It's cold and dark tonight, and the water is calm. A perfect night to search for the body of a missing fisherman, whose ghost has been causing quite a disturbance in the little town by the Atlantic coast.

“There's nothing there,” Joe says, reappearing at the surface, his wetsuit glimmering in the spotlight. “Nothing but water. Though if you guys see any mermen -”

Nicky fakes offense, putting his hand on his chest. “Yusuf, you wouldn't!”

Joe laughs, and begins to climb up the ladder.

“Hold on, I'm coming back in. Hold on, I -”

Joe's eyes go wide, and he disappears beneath the water with a shriek of pain, monstrous jaws attached to his ankle. The others stare for a long moment in shock.

“JOE!” Nicky screams, and dives in after him. With the spotlight on, Abe can see him swimming down, down, down into the dark water. Dread curls in his stomach. There's no way Nicky can swim as fast as whatever the hell the thing that grabbed Joe was. He'll drown before he reaches him. Someone else has to go after Joe. And that someone is him.

He dives after Nicky, the cold of the water shocking him for only a fraction of a second. He swims down, down, and luckily the spotlight is bright enough to light some of the way. But some isn't all, and Nicky has already swam out of reach of the light. Abe swims forward, using information from the microcurrents around him to find any sign of movement. Finally, his webbed fingers brush a fleshy arm.

Abe grabs Nicky and begins to haul him back towards the light and the surface. The man is limp in his grasp, possibly already dead from drowning. He desperately hopes that Nicky won't revive before they reach the boat. Hauling a struggling, drowning man through the water will waste valuable time.

Abe breaks the surface and Andy and Hellboy reach down to pull Nicky into the boat. Nicky gasps, choking wetly and seizing. A flood of water and vomit comes rushing out of his mouth.

“Go, go!” Hellboy says, gesturing at Abe. “We've got him, go get Joe!”

“Wait, here!” Nile tosses him a waterproof flashlight. Abe catches it, the rough pads on his palm giving him extra grip despite their wetness. He clicks it on, and goes back under.

Now that Nicky is safe, Abe can focus on following the path of the monster. He searches for a minute or two, trying to look for clues in the dark water. Finally, it hits him in the nostrils – the tangy iron smell of blood. Joe's blood, probably, from where the monster grabbed him. He follows the scent deeper and deeper down into the dark water.

Meanwhile, back on the boat, Hellboy is holding back a frantic, enraged Nicky, who keeps attempting to throw himself back over the side of the boat. The small vessel rocks with their push and pull, and Nile feels a bit sick to her stomach.

“Nicky, calm down!” Andy finally barks. “Abe is going after him. It'll be fine. I promise. We'll get him back.”

Andy looks away, and for a moment Nile can see the overwhelming fear in her eyes. She knows exactly what Andy's thinking about. About a woman trapped under the weight of the ocean, struggling desperately to breathe.

“Joe,” Nicky moans raggedly, but he stops fighting against the much stronger man holding him back. Hellboy pats him on the back, making him sway a little.

“What were you thinking, buddy?” Hellboy says. “Diving in after him like that?”

“Nicky, think?” Andy laughs harshly. “When it comes to Joe being in danger? You've known us too long to assume that Nicky was thinking, Hellboy.”

Nicky doesn't say anything to counter her, just stares out at the inky black night and the dark, cold water. His eyes are dark and he's trembling, and Nile can't tell if it's out of cold or fear. Maybe a little of both.

Abe follows the scent of Joe's blood deep into the darkness, the water illuminated by the pale beam of the flashlight. Eventually, he comes upon a towering mass of rock, pitted with crannies and caverns. The stench of blood and death pours from one of the larger holes, almost liquid in its intensity. Abe gags, but dutifully follows the odor into the tunnel. This has to be where the monster took Joe. He hopes he isn't too late. Abe doesn't know what would happen to Joe if he was eaten, and he doesn't particularly want to find out.

The tunnel leads deeper and deeper, until, finally, the passage opens up into a round, submerged cavern. Hundreds of bones litter the sandy floor, along with rusted chunks of metal and other items; watches, pairs of glasses, shoes, even a prosthetic arm. The monster has either lived here a long time, or it's been eating very, very well.

The flashlight's illumination doesn't light up the entire space, and Abe has seen no sign of Joe or what grabbed him. He's about to turn around and leave when his hand brushes up against something slimy and fleshy. Abe jolts backwards, swinging the light around to reveal an absolutely massive moray eel, far larger than any mundane specimen. Joe lies dead in its jaws, and the eel seems to be playing with his body, shaking and rolling its head so that Joe thrashes around limply.

Abe reaches into his hip holster for his knife, hoping to stab the thing while it's distracted. But the movement sends out a ripple, and the creature's red eyes suddenly open, and fix straight on him. He prepares himself for an attack, but none comes. Instead, he hears a voice, an unmistakable voice in his head.

“Brother?” the voice says. “Brother, it's been so long!”

The voice is feminine, with a Mediterranean lilt to it. And it's clearly coming from the monstrous eel in front of him. The creature unhinges its jaws, letting Joe float down to the cavern floor. Joe lets out a reedy, pained gasp, and his eyes flick between Abe and the eel.

“Abe,” Joe burbles as he begins to drown again. “Abe, help!”

Abe swims towards Joe, reaching out, but the eel blocks his path.

“You know this human, brother?” the voice thunders in his head. “Are you attempting to rescue this human?”

Abe doesn't know how to respond to the creature. A clearly intelligent creature, who calls him “brother.” He tries to push other thoughts out of his mind, to focus on what he wants to say to this creature, like he's been taught to talk to telepathic beings.

“Why do you call me brother?” Abe thinks. “I don't know you.”

The eel stares at him for a long second, then suddenly bares its teeth.

“So the rumors are true,” the voice says scornfully. “The Prince has abandoned his throne for the surface world.”

“Prince? I don't know what you're talking about! Just let him go and we'll leave you alone!”

Instead, the eel lunges at him, hitting him in the chest with its snout and sending him reeling backward. Abe pulls out his knife and attempts to stab the beast, but it rears back again and throws him into one of the walls of the cavern.

“TRAITOR!” it screams. “BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE!”

“I'll leave if you just let him go!” Abe thinks. “Please, just let him go! I have no idea what you're talking about!”  
“You choose a human over me, over your own kind? You really have abandoned us!”

Abe pushes himself off the wall and swims toward Joe, but again, the eel blocks him. It scoops up Joe into its jaws, and with a loud crunch, severs him in two, swallowing the legs while letting his head and torso float away. Joe looks at him with confusion and terror in his eyes as he succumbs again to blood loss.

“There!” it snarls. “Half for you, traitor, and half for me. Now leave this place! You are no longer welcome here!”

Abe doesn't spare a moment thinking about the creature's bizarre ramblings. He reaches out and grabs Joe's upper half as the eel stares at him with unmatched menace. Then he's swimming up back into the light, away from the stench of death and an unknown destiny.

Abe finally reaches the surface, and Andy and Hellboy haul Joe into the boat.

“JOE!” Nicky screams again, pulling his legless lover into his arms. Joe grits his teeth from pain, but smiles at Nicky, cupping his face with an ashy hand.

“It's okay, ya amar,” Joe rasps. “I'm back. I haven't left you.”

Nicky sobs wordlessly as Abe hauls himself into the boat. His mind is reeling with what the creature had “said” to him. Why did it call him “brother?” And “traitor?” What was this about a prince abandoning his throne? Abe has never had more questions, more doubts about his origins.

“Good job, man,” Hellboy says, shaking him by the shoulder. “Glad we've got you around in situations like this.”

“Yeah,” Abe says vacantly. He watches as Andy throws another blanket over Joe and Nicky and leads them down into the boat's cabin. Joe leaves a thick trail of blood beneath him. Abe lingers behind, staring out at the water. Thinking about how the sea has always felt so much more like home than the land.


End file.
